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Creating an amazing meal can often be compared to an indepth strategic play. Combining the right foods, balancing the flavours, diversifying textures. Cooking can be simple, but at the same time very complex.
Take the flavours of salty and sweet for example. Salt doesn’t only add saltiness to food, it also helps in enhancing sweetness and suppressing bitterness. Also, salty and sweet flavours trigger a response in the brain that is associated with food that is calorie or nutrient dense. It only makes sense, in combining the two, that it creates a very pleasurable experience, much more than one flavour alone.
The broccoli soba recipe is a very well-rounded dish. The saltiness of the soy sauce, sweetness of the maple syrup (Canadian style bonus points), spiciness of the chili, sourness of the lime, crunchy texture of the broccoli and nuts and the softness of the soba noodles. It plays with every aspect of the tongue while at the same time, is an incredibly healthy dinner option. When you try this meal paired with the Riesling Pinot Grigio, really take the time to acknowledge the flavours you are experiencing and how well they work together,
Inniskillin Niagara Estate Series Riesling Pinot Grigio
Inniskillin, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
$13.95
The 2013 vintage reflects exceptional quality and complexity. A cool start in spring led to a warm summer with excellent ripening periods. September moving into mid October had abundant sunshine, minimal rain and warm daytime temperatures giving Pinot Noir its strength in varietal character and the early white varieties of Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc ripe fruit and great aromatics. From mid October to mid November the harvest challenged us with cooler temperatures and frequent rains that slowed down maturity putting strategic picking and vineyard management into play with Viognier, Chardonnay and the later ripening reds-Merlot, Shiraz, and the Cabernets- with all able to reach their maximum potential. Some botrytis appeared in Viognier from the Brae Burn Vineyard.
Why we think this works – When pairing wines and foods, the key is to pair like flavours together: sweet with sweet, acidic with acidic, etc. When like flavours aren’t possible (for example there are no salty wines), look for complementary flavours: salty with acidic. In this case, we will play with the sweet and the salty with a crisp Riesling. Rieslings are known for their bright acidity and often have a hint of sweetness.
The Inniskillin Riesling Pinot Grigio is an intriguing blend displaying peach and floral aromas and lemon-lime and green apple flavours. There is a small amount of residual sweetness that is balanced by a firm, crisp acidity – the best of both worlds.Read the full wine report here!
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